Keeping warm
by Teddy Remus
Summary: Random Sheyla


**A/N:** This takes place anywhere in the fifth season. Not terribly original, and it probably will barely make sense, since I dreamed it. Sorry in advance.

The night was bitterly cold. An icy breeze swept away any warmth their small fire might afford. Ronon and Rodney had taken the other room, just down the hall from the one John and Teyla shared. Ronon had given John a very odd look as he had grabbed Mckay by his vest and hauled him out of the room. Teyla had stood with indecision for a moment before making her way over to the small fireplace, lighting a fire. John remained where he was by the door, immobilised by tension. The room almost smelled of it.

Teyla looked over from where she sat on her haunches and raised an eyebrow at him. Sheppard shook his head slightly to clear his mind and made his way over to the frosted window. So he was alone with Teyla. They'd been alone together loads of times. Not since before she had Torin. Not since she had told him she was pregnant, and he had acted with what had most definitely been jealousy. Had she noticed? Ronon had. When Kanaan came back on the scene he had hardly been able to look at him. Had she noticed that too? She didn't act like it. So why was there so much tension in the room? It had never been there before. Normally when they shared a sleeping place there was little other than sleep on either of their minds. He was thinking of things not even close to sleep.

He couldn't see a thing out the window, so he closed the flimsy curtain in the hope of keeping in some heat. When he turned back to the room at large, he saw Teyla was still sitting before the fire. She looked as if she were contemplating its depths, her body completely still and withdrawn. She looked further away than ever. John bent down to take off his boots and socks, clearing his throat as he did so. This served to snap Teyla out of her reverie, and she glanced over at him sharply, before her face softened to its normal expression and she stood up stiffly. She copied John's actions, and he was now unclipping his vest and p90. He put them down beside the right side of the bed.

"You mind?" He indicated that side of the bed.

"No, John. That is fine." Her voice sounded oddly clipped. She must be missing Torin.

"You know he's fine, Teyla. In good hands." She looked at him blankly for a second, then nodded her head and muttered a quiet 'of course'.

Well, now there was nothing left for it but to go to sleep. John pulled back the thin cover and lay down in his cargo pants and black tee. Teyla had been wearing one of her tight Athosian sleeveless tops under her military issue Atlantis jacket. John covered his eyes slightly with a hand and watched her covertly as she walked around the room, checking the door and window were secure. When she got to her side of the bed she carefully folded her things and placed them neatly beside the bed. She then stood watching him for a moment. She couldn't see his eyes, and she didn't seem aware that he was watching her.

Getting into her side of the bed, John removed his hand from above his eyes and rolled on to his side facing away from Teyla, muttering a sleepy 'goodnight'. Damn, he was tired. He didn't think it would take long for him to drift off. When he still lay there awake ten minutes later he copped onto the fact that something was preventing him from sleeping. He became aware of his body once again and realised that there was a vibration coming from behind him. Rolling onto his back, he looked over at Teyla and saw she was shaking. At first he thought she was crying, and his mind abruptly went blank like it always did when ever he saw another person cry. He soon realised that the occasional sigh he heard from her was not in fact a sob but a sigh of frustration. She was cold.

Without thinking, John rolled closer to her and enveloped her, pressing against her back. She immediately stiffened. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, but…"

"It is fine John." She paused as she began to relax slightly. "Thank you."

They lay in silence for the better part of half an hour. John tried hard not to think of her warm body pressed against his, of how good she seemed to fit… He clenched his fist unconsciously, and Teyla reached up with her hand to touch his hand inquiringly. John just cleared his throat and tried to make himself think of nothing but football statistics and the next training session he would have to give all the members of Atlantis who had the Ancient gene. Distraction wasn't working as well as it could. Her constant shivering, however, did.

"Teyla, roll onto your other side." She tensed in response. "C'mon," he muttered sleepily. "I know you'd probably prefer to not have me touch you, but we need to sleep, and neither of us can if you're cold. Roll over." Teyla moved slowly to face him. She stared at him with wide eyes, but John was too tired to notice. John pulled her to him, only aware peripherally of the oddness of his actions. When she was held against him full bodied he began to rub her back to help warm her. The action in itself almost put him to sleep, but a quiet voice brought him back to wakefulness.

"Why would it bother me to have you touch me?" Her voice was muffled from where it was pressed against his clavicle. He was distracted by her warm breath, but eventually her words sank in and he found he had no answer. "John."

"Well, I mean… You know." Silence.

"No, I do not know." Damn, she wasn't going to make this easy.

"Well, I'm a guy, and when a guy touches a- woman," almost said girl there, "It's often construed to be.. Intimate. "

"Hm?" Great, he'd lost her.

"Uh, well… What I'm doing now isn't strictly my place to do, but you're cold, so I am… doing it."

"Keeping me warm?"

"Touching you." Another moment went by.

"But if it is platonic, then there would be nothing to worry about." John hesitated noticeably before he muttered 'right'. A few minutes went by before Teyla shifted in his arms, pressing back slightly to look up at him. John pretended to be asleep, but by her voice she knew he was awake. "John." He cracked an eye open to look at her. She had a strange light in her eyes. "Does it bother you to be this close to me?"

"What? No, of course not!" She raised an eyebrow at his vehemence, and John caught himself before he embarrassed himself any further. He could still feel her stare on him, and his sleepy mind began looking for an out. Seemingly out of nowhere she spoke again.

"Then you like being close to me?" She sounded amused now, but there was no safe way to answer that, really.

"I don't dislike it." He felt more than heard her chuckle. It caused him to smile at the silliness of the moment. "Why, do you mind being close to me?" She stilled. Ha, sweet payback.

"I, I do not _dis_like it." Her voice was full of humour, if hesitant.

"Well then. I guess we're good." He smiled down at her. He was almost asleep when she next spoke.

"John?" Her tone was full of trepidation.

"Uh-huh."

"What if I said I liked this?" His hands stilled on her back as he processed this.

"Us joking?"

"_This_," she gripped his shirt in both hands and pulled. John caught his breath. She felt him tense and began to pull away. He grabbed her.

"I like this." She was pulled back far enough that he could see her face. She was staring at him wide eyed again. Feeling brave, John leant down and brushed his lips lightly against hers. He pulled back slightly, still close enough that their lips touched. Then she shifted a little and captured his lips in a proper kiss, slow and gentle. When they pulled apart they were both smiling.


End file.
